2 months ago
Eating pho in China is the equivalent to getting back with an ex just because the pain of longing for them hurts more than just forgetting them. The point is, just like ex’s, eating pho in China is a disappoint. But pho-natics in China will go to desperate measures to experience the illusive bowl of pho. Even though we know pho in China is wannabe pho, pho-natics will still eat it sometimes when our craving overwhelms our rational senses. We do it not for the food itself, but for the ideals of pho, such as:
- bonding with old friends and new friends
- defining one’s own individual and creative way for eating pho
- experiencing the collective love of pho
- engaging all of one’s bodily senses in a all consuming eating experience
- embracing the mythical food of the goddesses and gods
- putting fresh food into our human bodies
- celebrating the people who invented Pho (Northern Vietnamese)
- remembering the evils and wonders that come out of colonialism. (Before the French colonized Vietnam, Vietnamese peoople didn’t eat beef.)
- honoring the etymological roots of “PHỞ” as feu (fire) in French
I found myself craving desperately for a bowl of pho a few weeks ago, but where I live in China, there’s nothing that even comes close to Vietnamese cuisine, much less decent Chinese food. That is why you can only imagine my excitement when I was in Shanghai last week and two pho-angels Richard and Gregory, appeared into my life and suggested that we go to to Pho King. As expected, the pho did not even deserve to be called pho. But that didn’t matter because the conversation more than made up for what the pho was lacking. Even bad pho reminds you of the magicalness of the human connection.
Check out Gregory’s explanation for his pho strategy, a picture of Gregory’s pho bowl, and Richard squeezing his lime. Thank you Richard and Gregory for saving me with the miracle of pho! You both brought back so many memories that I almost pho-reaked out with pho-antasies!
So if you find yourself craving for a bowl of pho in China, don’t be embarrassed if you step into a Vietnamese restaurant. We at Fuck Yeah Pho will not judge you. We welcome your pictures of des-pho-ration as long as you tell us your story.
While I am on this topic, if you live and China and want to eat something that is equally orgasmic, unforgettable, and addictive bowl as a bowl of pho in Vietnam or at a restaurant in a Vietnamese immigrant community in USA, then eat Hui lamb soup (Yáng Ròu Pào Mó 羊肉泡馍) made by Hui Muslims. Go to Xian or go to the one standing Hui restaurant called 西城区白云观街1号 on the Line 1 Mù Xī Dì 木樨地站 stop. I took a few friends there over the summer and they were more than pleased. Ayman Shamma took some great photos and I re-blooged his recounting of the miracle of Hui lamb soup.
When done right, the bowl should look like the soup in this picture. I love Hui lamb soup because it’s a very time-consuming, social, intellectual, and embodied eating process. There’s a lot of sharing involved, lots of soup eating strategy, and of course lots of hand reaching and picking. With pho you use your hands to rip up the vegetable into smaller pieces while with with Hui lamb soup you use your hands to rip up the bread into the smallest piece possible. Both types of soups are best eaten with people you care about and don’t mind slurping around with. And eating Hui lamb soup doesn’t replace pho, but it is like finding a new best friend who you know will be equally loyal to you as long as you keep calling them.
Gregory Perez tells us how he eats his pho: meatballs first is the trick. Pho King, Shanghai, China.
9 months ago
1 year ago
fuck yeah pho on rare beef!
1 year ago
I keep it Pho-Fresh Beeotches - Universal Semantics of Pho!
That’s right - 3 Stripes Clothing has another phobulous shirt for you to wear while your nom nom noming at your favorite pho-place.
Pho is a universal dish/ bowl that is enjoyed by many people beyond the Vietnamese race. Because it’s so universal, we’re coming up with different ways to use the word PHO. So to all my Vietnamese people and Pho lovers out there, keep it PHO-resh!
A few weeks ago we featured a Pho-King shirt from 3 Stripes Clothing also. 3 STripes describes their line as a brand that started for the pho community. fine vietnamese community. but close enough!
Recognizing the lack of Vietnamese inspired t-shirts in the market, 3 Stripes Clothing decided to take matters into their own hands to develop a line of shirts that will give Vietnamese people a voice and style. Our mission is to create a series of t-shirts that showcase our culture in all of its aspects and represenst the pride of the Vietnamese people.
We are Strong. We are Vietnamese.
3 Stripes Clothing. BE PROUD.
WE love you 3stripes clothing! Now Fuck Yeah Pho lovers go buy your pho-ashion t-shirts from 3 STripes Clothing today!
1 year ago
1 year ago
Another pho-filling recipe discovery from Steamy Kitchen
This comes from Pho-natic Ayman who tried out this recipe for the holidays.
The Pho-bulous Simmer that makes you pho-ever melt
I'll be Pho for the Holidays - A Pholover shows us how to make home-made pho «
A true Pho-natic, Ayman attempts to make a home-made bowl of pho goodness. He used a recipe found on Steamy Kitchen from Andrea Nguyen’s Into the Vietnamese Kitchen. He shares his experience below. We love Ayman’s Instagram photos!
From shamurai:
The recipe calls for some bones and some meat for the broth, however my local supermarket had some really nice bones, so I skipped the meat part.
Parboil, rinse, boil, add toasted goodies as directed and simmer for 2 hours. Then um…simmer for another hour. It was all quite simple from here. Freeze the meat (sirloin here) for 10 minutes, take it out, slice it thin, then pound it thinner like a carpaccio. Prep the noodles. Cut up the veggies. Put the rice noodles in the bowl. Put the meat on top. Strain the broth, add some sea salt and more fish sauce, get it to a boil and pour it into the bowl. And instantly, you get pho! Well, as instant as 3 plus hours of a low simmer will get you. Add some veggies and go to town. I have to say, it was really tasty broth with the mung beans, mint, and lime…the meat was good but not the right cut. So try to get the butcher to slice it thin or maybe try the flank cut. Course I ate it so fast it probably didn’t matter all that much.
via shamurai
1 year ago
Stylish Pho-ashion for the Pho Lover! Pho King Delicious from 3 Stripes Clothing!
3 Stripes Clothing is pho-reaking awesome! We love their social commitment to creating pho-roud shirts for the Vietnamese community!
Recognizing the lack of Vietnamese inspired t-shirts in the market, 3 Stripes Clothing decided to take matters into their own hands to develop a line of shirts that will give Vietnamese people a voice and style. Our mission is to create a series of t-shirts that showcase our culture in all of its aspects and represenst the pride of the Vietnamese people.
We are Strong. We are Vietnamese.
3 Stripes Clothing. BE PROUD.
Here’s a description about this pho-king line:
What Vietnamese person doesn’t eat or love Pho?! This design is a play on the new Burger King logo and simply states it’s “Pho-King Delicious”. For those non-Vietnamese people looking at the design, PHO is pronounced “Fuh”. Now put two and two together and wallah! Enjoy.
So buy your shirt today if you want to eat in pho-style. we heart 3 stripes clothing!
Thank you Ayman for the submission! We don’t phorget our best contributors!
1 year ago
We always give grace to the pho gods in the kitchen before we eat. This time we gave grace to Pho Ca Dao in San Diego- the best pho restaurant in the USA.
